Into the Black: The electrifying true story of how the first flight of the Space Shuttle nearly ended in disaster

Rowland White writes a pulsating story about the evolution of space travel culminating in the technical masterpiece that is the Shuttle. Absolutely brilliantly researched and told in such a way that you will be riveted from start to finish. If you are a lover of acronyms you will just love this book!!

Great detail on the early shuttle missions.

Really enjoyed this. Nicely written, well researched, and I rattled through it quickly. He covers the development of the Shuttle right from the start during Apollo up to its first flight, with a brief appendix about its subsequent problems as well as a few brief mentions of the Soviet shuttle Buran. This is mainly told through the eyes of its first two astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen, as well as Crippen's other Air Force colleagues, especially Dick Truly. He takes the time to describe the main characters and you end up feeling like you know them, especially Crippen. The Air Force and related secret reconnaissance angle is especially interesting because it explains a lot about the politics and the main design decisions behind the Shuttle's development, without which a lot of it doesn't make sense. I was quite surprised at actually how quickly it was developed once the main design configuration had been sorted out. I found that towards the end there was a little too much breathless detail about the reconnaissance satellites which helped to allay fears about the heat shield. It's interesting that he's managed to get so much detail on it, but I lost track of the orbits. The same is true of some of the surrounding details of chase planes and infrared cameras following the landing - I didn't really understand why that mattered and it detracted a little from the main story and characters. Overall, he's surprisingly positive about the Shuttle and the people who designed and built it. One of very few people to be criticised is actually an aside about Buzz Aldrin, which seemed a bit mean (he was quoting John Young), and there are a few gentle criticisms of main designer Max Faget, but there's an argument to be much harsher on some of the basic design flaws - a heat shield too vulnerable during launch, and a lack of crew escape system. It left me wanting to know more about its subsequent development though, which is good, and I suppose it's good to focus on the bravery and ingenuity behind the Shuttle, not just its flaws. Good stuff.

One of the best books I have read. I love anything space related and this book goes into detail and beyond around the first shuttle mission. We have a huge build up towards the shuttles creation with space missions discussed at length beforehand. We then have the development, the struggles and politics of even being able to design the shuttle in the first place, then what follows is the first mission and a major concern which could lead to catastrophe for the astronauts on board. It also has some beautiful photographs towards the end ( I’m reading the kindle version so not sure if these images are scattered through a printed version of the book ) but they are a bonus and can’t help you image what’s being discussed inside as there are a lot of aircraft names and terms most won’t be familiar with. It was a beautiful book to read

This is an extremely informative account leading up to and through the first mission of the space shuttle. I love the way Rowland White writes and being able to produce a fact based but almost conversational narrative to the technical depths he achieves is outstanding. It is clear that he dedicated much time and thought to this book. I noticed how some reviewers have criticised White for darting around between different subjects and characters with little introduction or warning. I can understand these opinions but feel one must remember that this is not a work of fiction. I read the first 5 (all be it very short) chapters twice to try to get a better grounding of who these Astronauts are. Unsurprisingly, almost all had very similar backgrounds (and it turns out similar names!) - therefore if you aren't instantly familiar with who John G, John Y, Bob, Joe, Dick, Rick, Fred or Ted are the second time their name appears then a few seconds spent checking might make the book flow smoothly, as it soon did for me. White has written a factual account of a highly technical subject in a manner that is as accessible for as many people as possible. It is a very difficult line to tread and the balance will undoubtedly upset some. However, for me, it was spot on. I would be surprised if anyone could read this account without learning fascinating information but you might just also get swept up in the passion so many had for the Shuttle and perhaps gain a new level of appreciation for what was achieved and what we now no longer have. I do not think it would be possible to obtain this information in a more enjoyable or easily accessible account than this book. I thank Rowland for researching and writing it, and I for one shall miss reading it!

This well written historical account covers the period from mid Apollo project to the first mission of the Space Shuttle. The first half of the book details the background to the shuttle program, and gives the reader a good understanding as to why this reusable approach to spaceflight was chosen over expendable rockets. The second half covers the incredibly complex job of designing, building and then flying the shuttle. This is a compelling read, the level of engineering excellence involved in using 1960's and 1970's technology to solve fantastically complicated problems is astonishing. The author has done their research, spoken to a wide range of people who were involved and produced a superb book that was a joy to read.

A good read Occasionally gets bogged down in the weeds but worth sticking with it

Well, of course at some level it is exactly the melodramatic and heroistic victory fanfare one would expect to get. But fortunately it is much much more. First of all this is way more than just the story of the first flight of the Space Shuttle. That would be as if I were to give you the story of my latest meal but then to start it with the life of my grand-parents. In our case we get bits and pieces of Gemini and more significant parts of Apollo and even more of MOL and SkyLab and some pointers to Apollo-Soyuz .. and then of course the whole story about the idea for the Shuttle, its development, its production and finally its flight. And for all of this we get the relevant people, way beyond just mentioning them, but rather having them brought to life, their waypoints mentioned, their personalities and interactions portrayed. On the technical side it is amazing how much was going on, details within details, the whole nine yards. Yes, you really need patience to finally finally get to the place where that Shuttle actually gets into space. I had to change my expectations as I had anticipated a book along the lines of that movie "Apollo XIII" where there still is a lot of background but the flight remains the main part. Here the "intro" is the main part and delivers so much information that the (still large) part about the flight itself is accessible to the fullest extend. After I re-set myself I was able to connect the content of the book with a huge amount of space knowledge I already have in my head and of course with "The Right Stuff" and other popular documentaries. I would say that the book is surely a must read when it comes to the transition of NASA from earlier programs to the era of the Space Shuttles. Anything beyond this book would have to be official NASA documentation. I am very happy to have had the ability to read it.

Aniria bé tenir un mapa de personatges i organismes, perquè en surten molts i molt variats. El llibre és una radiografia excel·lent del programa del transbordador espacial, amb totes les llums i ombres. Interessant veure quin va ser el paper de la NRO.

I started following the US space program in 1961, at the ripe old age of 8. That peaked with me working on the Space Shuttle flight simulators at NASA/JSC in 1979-80, followed by a stint next door at the Lunar & Planetary Institute. So when a colleague from that time recommended this book to me last week, I ordered it; once I started reading it, I finished it in short order. White has done an outstanding job not only of tracing the history that led to the Space Shuttle, but also of the intertwined history of "America's Other Space Program", the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Indeed, the NRO portions of the book are frankly as important and fascinating as the history of the Shuttle itself. White is a great story teller and has lots of technical and personal details from the individuals involved to make the book not just informative but entertaining to read. Some of the details in the book I have long known, but there were vast amounts here that were new to me, that filled in blanks or explained whole new areas of which I was unaware. My time working on the simulators was typically 1 to 3 am on a weekday night, but I still had a chance to meet some of the astronauts; in particular, I remember Kathy Sullivan, who was always kind and gracious to a somewhat awe-struck 26-year-old computer programmer. And, yes, those of us working on the simulator knew about the 'Return To Launch Site' (RTLS) abort procedure and knew that John Young thought it insanity of the highest order. While I saw John Young and Bob Crippen around Building 5, I didn't get to meet them until I had moved on to the Lunar & Planetary Institute next door. Some 48 hours after STS-1 had landed, Young & Crippen had their debriefing session with NASA and other personnel at LPI, in the renovated stone barn building that housed LPI's computer center and photo archives -- and also where I happened to have my cubicle. The reason given was that they were trying to avoid the press, which may have been true; a CBS camera crew, led by (IIRC) Roger Mudd, showed up at LPI, looking for the astronauts, and were asked to leave. In any case, some of us got to talk with Young & Crippen before their debriefing started; Young was still enthusing about the Shuttle. He also talked about all the great photos they had snapped of Soviet territory with a 35 mm camera while flying over it. :-) I have a stock STS-1 pre-mission photo of the two of them, autographed by both, from that visit. Outstanding book; highest recommendation.

Love the details that the author has put into it. The print quality is super and the photos are very good. This is a well researched book on not just the Space shuttle program but also has a lot of background on the people who developed and flew it.